OurFestive SeasonLine-up

A decision to appoint a new service provider to distribute social grants as per a ConCourt ruling was expected last Friday. However, the South African Post Office (SAPO), South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), Home Affairs and commercial banks failed to meet that deadline due to unspecified reasons.

Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe, who is heading the inter-ministerial committee overseeing the negotiation process - says that a hybrid payment model has been agreed on.

An agreement is now expected to be signed on Friday. The implementation protocol paves the way for a more collaborative agreement.

Lindsay Dentlinger, Parliamentary Reporter at EWN has been working on the story.

Dentlinger reports that the SA Post Office was only offered one out of four services which it wasn't happy with, as its CEO Mark Barnes insists it is capable of doing far more than Sassa is giving it credit for.

We are told by Minister Jeff Radebe that the hold up is subject to cost effectiveness and that the capabilities of the post office still need to be verified.

— Lindsay Dentlinger, Parliamentary Reporter at EWN

Dentlinger also reports that Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini arrived at the meeting at least forty-five minutes late.

The expert panel appointed by the Constitutional Court delivered another scathing report against Sassa says Dentlinger.

She says the report recommends National Treasury investigates all Sassa officials involved in the contracts for the payments of grants dating back to 2016 and identify if any of them may need to face criminal charges in relation to the Public Finance Management Act.